Running a Hospital in Africa After USAID Cuts | Chrystina Russell

Описание: Chrystina Russell flew from Burundi to tell us what nonprofit leaders need to hear right now: how Village Health Works absorbed a $1.4 million USAID funding gap — and didn't blink.

In this conversation, you'll learn:
✅ How mission-driven organizations survive sudden federal funding cuts
✅ Why love alone isn't enough — you need love AND skill to serve vulnerable communities
✅ What leading from a resource-scarce environment teaches you about systems thinking
✅ The leadership philosophy behind a 20-year organization serving 200,000+ people

This episode is perfect for Executive Directors, nonprofit CEOs, and program leaders navigating funding uncertainty, staff burnout, and the pressure to do more with less.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Why Good Teachers Burn Out (And Who's Really to Blame)
1:53 – Meet Chrystina: Joining Us from Burundi, East Africa
3:06 – What Is Village Health Works? 20 Years of Community Health
4:51 – From Bilingual Special Ed Teacher in the Bronx to International Development
7:09 – What Africa Is Really Like (Busting the Narrative)
14:53 – The Education Crisis: Losing Great Teachers to a Broken System
20:01 – Nonprofit vs. School System: What Actually Changes?
23:12 – The USAID Cuts: A $1.4M Gap, a Harvard Scholar Denied, and What Came Next
28:06 – How Village Health Works Is Getting the Word Out
33:18 – What Today's Young Leaders Are Actually Telling Us
37:39 – How Chrystina Pours Into Herself (Wellness, Rest, and Walking as Rebellion)
44:43 – The Assumption She Was Wrong About (Her Most Honest Answer)
46:29 – Connect with Village Health Works + How to Support

📊 KEY TAKEAWAYS:
The system is often the problem — not the people in it. Whether it's teacher burnout or nonprofit funding gaps, individual effort can't outrun broken structures.
Love is necessary, but not sufficient. Serving vulnerable communities requires pairing genuine care with real, technical skill.
Village Health Works serves 200,000+ people across 19 communities with 200 community health workers — and absorbed a $1.4M USAID gap without abandoning its mission.
When peanut paste shipments stopped overnight, the team pivoted to growing their own — turning a crisis into community economic empowerment.
Rest is resistance. Chrystina shares how Tricia Hersey's framework reshaped her leadership approach to sustainability.

👤 ABOUT CHRYSTINA RUSSELL:
Chrystina Russell is the Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Village Health Works, a 20-year-old community health organization in Burundi, East Africa. She began her career as a bilingual special education teacher in the Bronx, spent a decade as a teacher and principal in East Harlem, and transitioned into international development after building a track record of results in education innovation. She now leads fundraising and strategic development for an organization running a 200-bed hospital, secondary and primary schools, and community economic empowerment programs serving 200,000+ people.

LinkedIn:   / chrystina-russell-phd-5686837  
Village Health Works: villagehealthworks.org
Donate: villagehealthworks.org/donate

🎙️ ABOUT HART & HUSTLE:
Hart & Hustle brings you weekly conversations with mission-driven leaders solving real problems in healthcare, education, and community services. Every Tuesday, hosts Keenan Hart and Efrain sit down with nonprofit executives, operations directors, and innovators to uncover practical strategies you can implement in your organization.

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